Hoses & Guns
by Rescue45
Summary: Starsky and Hutch leave to go on vacation to visit Roy and Johnny in Los Angeles. They are ran off the road and Starsky is trapped under the car and Hutch is injured. Can Roy and Johnny get to them before a rapidly approaching fire.


This story takes place after my other story Guns & Hoses. Sandybeliever has written a storyline for Emergency and some of the characters from Emergency I use are from her stories with her permission. If you read her stories about Johnny and Aubrey, you'll understand. She has written a story called Oo Baby about the births of Aubrey and Joanne's babies. That story ties into this one. She is also writing one that takes place shortly after this one. I hope you enjoy and look forward to feedback.

Hoses & Guns

Chapter 1

Day 1

Starsky and Hutch were sitting in Captain Dobey's office and Starsky, as usual, had his feet propped up on his captain's desk. "I wish he'd hurry up and get in here, Hutch."

"Relax, Starsk, he'll be here. He's just making us sweat for the fun of it. You know he's going to let us go. After the week we just put in, you know he'll let us go."

Hutch was drinking a cup of coffee and had just taken a sip when their Captain opened the door. Captain Dobey looked at Starsky who didn't move except to take a bite of a sandwich he was eating, "Starsky, get your feet off my desk."

"Sorry, Cap'n" Starsky replied as he quickly put his feet back on the floor then he licked his fingers and wiped his hands on the napkin he had tucked in his shirt. Hutch glanced at Starsky and gritted his teeth so his partner would know he was resisting the urge to laugh.

He always thought it was funny when their captain yelled at his partner. Starsky and Hutch both stared at Captain Dobey who started shuffling papers around.

It was at least five minutes before the Captain finally said, "Okay, your leave was approved. You boys deserve it after that last bust. You got your week and not a minute longer."

Simultaneously they replied, "Thanks, Cap'n."

"Just so I know where to send the search and rescue team this time, where are you headed? Are you camping again?"

"No. No camping. I've had enough of that. Hutch and I are going to visit Johnny and Roy."

"The paramedics from Los Angeles?"

"Yeah, Starsk and I thought we'd drive up and see them, seems my partner here has developed a fear of camping."

"After the last time, I'm in no hurry to go back."

"Well you'll be with paramedics this time, so you should stay out of trouble for a change and I can relax."

"I don't know about that, Cap'n, when they were here Hutch ended up on a ventilator, remember?"

"And you were missing for a while, partner."

"How could I forget? You're going on vacation to have fun. Be careful, will ya?"

"See, Hutch, I told you he really cares." Starsky said laughing as he stood up and threw his paper plate in the trash and drank the last of Hutch's coffee. Hutch grinned as he saw the smirk on his Captain's face.

Captain Dobey looked at Hutch then Starsky, raised the pencil he had in his hand and said, "Both of you, **get out of here**." As his two favorite detectives left his office, he shook his head, smiled and muttered, "Whatever trouble they're going to get into at least they'll be together."

Starsky's car was already packed with everything they were taking with them. "Starsk, are you sure you don't want to go camping? It's not too late to change your mind, you know." Hutch asked as he opened the passenger side door to the red and white Ford Torino. Hutch knew Starsky's response was going to be a no with a capital N. He was actually looking forward to seeing the paramedics anyway.

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response." Starsky replied as he got in his pride and joy, "Besides, Johnny and Roy are expecting us." He drove out of the parking lot of the police station headed for Los Angeles.

It was only 1500 and Starsky knew Hutch wanted to at least see the mountains so he decided to surprise his partner and take the scenic route to LA. It would take a lot longer but they had the time. Johnny and Roy had to work tomorrow so it would be Saturday before they would see them anyway. They timed their vacation so they would be able to spend the whole weekend with the paramedics and their families. Johnny told Starsky that he found a new Mexican restaurant to eat at and he was looking forward to taking him there. Hutch thanked Starsky for taking the longer trip through the mountains. They were enjoying a nice relaxing drive. Even Starsky seemed to enjoy the scenery.

It was dark when the car behind Starsky's attempted to pass, hitting the front of the Torino as he got back over into the right lane. Starsky turned the wheel and hit his brakes as he tried to avoid the enviable. He remembered hearing Hutch yell something as the car went over the embankment and rolled several times.

Hutch had been thrown out during the car's descent down the hillside. He had rolled over several branches and rocks before he finally rested with his head against a rock knocking him out.

The Apple-Red Ford Torino landed on its roof with all four tires sticking up in the air. The passenger door had been sheared off and there were multiple dents of various sizes all over the car. The windshield was shattered along with the back passenger window. The police radio had been ripped from its holder and was smashed lying on the roof of the car. The flashlight that had been in the glove box was now lying next to what was left of the radio. The rest of the contents of the glove box had been tossed out and were now scattered all over the ground. The trunk popped opened, their suitcases had fallen out and some of their clothes were spread out on the ground. Starsky had put some drinks and sandwiches in a cooler and that was now lying somewhere between the car's first roll and its final resting place at the bottom of the embankment.

Starsky was trapped under the car on the driver's side from his pelvis down. The driver's door was stuck in an open position. He had a bad gash on his forehead and his legs hurt. He saw the flashlight and stretched his arm to reach it. The tips of his fingers were barely able to touch it. It took some effort but he finally had it in his hand and turned it on.

Using the flashlight, he looked for Hutch but couldn't see him and yelled in an almost panicky voice as loud as he could, "Hutch! Come on, buddy, where are you?" There was no answer. His own pain started setting in now and he put his hand up to his forehead feeling something warm and liquid. When he brought his hand into view of the light, he saw a lot of blood. He tore his shirtsleeve and wrapped it around his head to try to stop the bleeding. Again he called, "Huuuutch!" Hearing no answer he laid his head on the ground and took a couple of deep breaths, mumbling to himself, "Come on, Hutch, please be okay. I need you." He stopped himself from panicking and focused on freeing himself from the hold the car had on him. He turned the flashlight off to save the batteries. He struggled to free himself for a long time until he finally passed out.

When Hutch woke up, his first thought was of Starsky and tried to sit up despite his throbbing headache. He yelled, "Starsk! Starsky, where are you!" There was no reply. As the pain in his head grew worse, he thought 'yelling might not have been such a good idea.' Feeling pain in his left arm and leg, he started surveying his injuries. What he found was a broken left arm and a bad gash on his leg that needed immediate tending to because he already lost a lot of blood. Tearing the shirt sleeve off of his left arm, he tried to tie it around his leg but with only one hand he couldn't do a very good job. He knew he had been thrown out of the car and that Starsky was probably downhill. "If that's where he is, then that's where I'm going," he mumbled to himself and started crawling down the hill. He yelled Starsky's name while crawling. Cringing from the pain, he had to stop every few feet. Finally, he reached the car and saw Starsky lying under it. He touched Starsky's shoulder, "Starsk, Starsky, hey can you hear me, buddy?"

Starsky moaned and slowly opened his eyes, "Hutch, buddy, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. How you feeling?"

"Terrific. I called you and when you didn't answer, I thought you…" His voice cracked at the thought of losing his partner.

"I'm okay, pal. I think I was knocked out for a while." Hutch saw the flashlight lying next to Starsky and turned it on to see what injuries Starsky might have. The first thing he saw was the bandage on Starsky's head and noticed he was bleeding through it. Hutch tried to tighten it but couldn't convince his left arm to cooperate. "Do you think you can tie this tighter, it's still bleeding quite a bit?" Starsky reached up and tied the bandage tight enough to stop the bleeding. "You got it now."

"Hey, your leg." Starsky said when he saw the blood oozing out of the bandage Hutch had tied around his leg. Starsky reached for the bandage and tied it tighter so it finally stopped bleeding. "That's better. Well now what do we do, Ollie?" Starsky moaned from the pain in his legs.

Hutch looked at his watch, "It's 0400 now. The sun should be coming up in a couple of hours. Maybe we can get out of here then." He could see Starsky shivering from the cold and shock.

Hutch used the flashlight to look at his partner thoroughly for more injuries. He looked under the car and could only see Starsky was trapped. It was just too dark to see the extent of his injuries.

Starsky took the flashlight from Hutch, "It's my turn." He shined the light on Hutch's head first and slowly shined it down his partner's body looking for injuries. Starsky knew Hutch had a habit of trying to hide injuries from him. He saw some bruises on his face then noticed his left arm. "Hutch, you know that arm's broken."

"Yeah, I figured that one out all by my own self, Sherlock."

Starsky took a better look at Hutch's leg. The bandage was controlling the bleeding now. Taking the bandage off would probably make it start bleeding again so he left it in place.

After Starsky's head-to-toe exam of him Hutch took the light back, "I'm gonna find something to keep us warm." They could both hear a storm approaching. Hutch shinned the light around looking for some of their clothes they had packed and he thought he saw some of them lying close by, "Just sit still, partner, I think I see some of our clothes. Maybe I can find us a jacket." Hutch stood up carefully and discovered that his leg would now only half-way support his weight. It was still hurting but he could walk-or rather-limp a few feet. He found one of their suitcases not far away and even though some of the clothes had fallen out, he was able to find a couple of clean jackets and shirts. The cooler that had the drinks and sandwiches was nearby and Hutch was able to pick it up and carry everything back to the car in two trips.

Hutch knew the storm was moving in closer and wanted to keep them both dry and warm. With a little help from Hutch, Starsky was able to take off his torn shirt and put on the long sleeved shirt Hutch handed him.

Hutch took off the dirty torn shirt he had on easily enough but was having a hard time putting the clean one on. Starsky saw Hutch struggling, "Sit down next to me if you can so I can help, that's got to be hard one handed."

Hutch sat down and let Starsky help him. It was hard to put a shirt on with only one arm but with the two of them working together the task was accomplished.

They both felt a little warmer. With the jackets still within reach, Hutch laid one on top of Starsky and Starsky helped Hutch wrap the other around him without hurting his broken arm any more than it already was.

Hutch leaned his back against the car door and put Starsky's head in his lap. They were now positioned so that Hutch could keep most of the rain off of Starsky. "You nice and comfy now, partner?"

"A lot better. You make a nice pillow." The look they shared said volumes about how much they cared and were worried about each other. That look also said they would get through this together like they have so many other situations.

Starsky opened two of the cans of soda. "We're quite a pair aren't we, Hutch?"

"That we are, buddy."

"Hutch?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm cold."

Hutch adjusted the jacket that was lying on Starsky, "Is that better?"

"Naw. Just roll the window up and I'll be okay." He chuckled.

Hutch smiled and shook his head, "You're a nut, a real nut you know that?"

"Hutch, when it rains I want you to climb inside the car and keep warm and dry."

"I'm fine right here with you, buddy. I'm not going anyplace." He put his one good arm on Starsky's chest.

The wind started up and there was a lot of lightning and thunder. There was some rain but not much. "Hutch?"

"Yeah, pal."

"Are you scared?"

"Who me, scared of a little thunder and rain, not a chance?"

"Liar."

Hutch held Starsky a little tighter as much as he could with one arm, With a soft comforting voice he replied, "Come on now, would I lie to you?"

"You have plenty of times. I always know, you know. When you lie to me, I can tell."

Hutch grinned as he looked up at the sky, watching the rain, "Oh you think so. You know why I'm not scared right now?"

"'Cause I'm here with you." Starsky tried to grin but he was in a lot of pain and moaned instead.

Hutch could see the pain that came across Starsky's face. He remembered when he had been trapped for a couple of days under his own car. He had been really scared then. He was scared that he wasn't going to live through it. He wasn't sure that Starsky would find him in time, but he did. He remembered feeling guilty later for not trusting his partner. "Take it easy, pal. I'm here. You're not alone. I'm not leaving you. As soon as it's light, we'll get you out and find help. And just so you know, I know when you lie to me too."

"You do? I thought I could lie better than you."

"You can, but you can't lie to me." There was a flash of illuminating lightning followed by a loud clap of thunder that made them both jump.

"Okay, I'll admit I'm scared, a little anyway." Starsky said as he grabbed Hutch's waist.

"Me too, partner. But we'll get out of this mess. We always do." Hutch reached for Starsky's hand and held it to let him know he was there and would always be there for him.

Chapter 2

Day 2

Starsky and Hutch didn't know how long the storm lasted as they both fell asleep. They slept for hours and the sun was overhead when Hutch woke up. He looked at his watch it was 11. He looked down at Starsky who still had his head in Hutch's lap.

The first thing that Hutch noticed was that Starsky's color was not good, he was pale. Hutch felt Starsky's forehead and it was hot. He didn't know how much of a fever his partner had, but it was a high one. He removed the bandage on Starsky's forehead carefully with his right hand and saw the bleeding was stopped and it didn't look too bad. Starsky started moving a little and moaned. "Hey, how you feeling this morning, partner?" Hutch asked Starsky as he picked up an opened soda can and handed it to Starsky.

"Let's just say, I hope I look better than I feel." Starsky replied as he drank the last of the soda.

Hutch rubbed the side of Starsky's face, "You don't. You look terrible, buddy."

Starsky squinted from the sun in his eyes as he looked at Hutch, "Well, partner, you don't exactly look like my knight in shining armor either. Seriously, Hutch, how are you?"

"I know my arms broken, it hurts like hell. My right leg feels a little better but I can't take the bandage off to see it."

"Let me see it."

Hutch took the jacket off that was wrapped around his shoulders, carefully put it under Starsky's head and moved so Starsky could see the wound on Hutch's leg. Hutch jumped a little from the pain as Starsky removed the bandage. Starsky could tell the wound was starting to get infected. "Hutch, can you find a clean cloth? I need to rewrap this."

Hutch looked inside the car where he had put the clothes he had found last night and spotted one of Starsky's shirts. Hutch had a pocket knife but it was in his left pocket so he couldn't get to it. Working together, Starsky managed to retrieve the knife from Hutch's pocket and cut one of the sleeves to make a bandage for Hutch's leg and the other one for his head wound.

"Hutch, there's no way you can get this car off of me."

"Starsk, I'm going to look around a little and see if I can find some water. We only have a couple of cans of soda and we need water to clean these lacerations of ours before they get infected. Then we'll talk about getting us outta here, okay?"

Starsky nodded. He knew finding water was the first priority. "You're the camper." He rubbed his head which was now beginning to hurt. "How come we ended up in the woods again? We were going to take vacation in a city this time so this wouldn't happen."

"Just lucky, I guess. Remember if we had actually gone camping we'd be in a cabin now and you wouldn't be under a car."

"Well I only drove through the mountains for you, buddy." Starsky felt bad as soon as he said that. He knew Hutch would blame himself for the whole accident. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that, Hutch. This isn't your fault." He said in all seriousness. Starsky and Hutch gave each other a look that let both of them know neither was blaming the other. They were in this together and they would get out of it together, as always.

Hutch could see Starsky's gun in its holster on his right side. "If you need me fire a shot, okay."

Starsky looked at Hutch's holster and noticed that it was empty, "Where's yours?"

Hutch felt for his gun and noticed that it was missing. "I guess I'll look for that too."

Starsky handed Hutch his gun saying, "I won't need it but you might. Take it, Hutch."

"You keep it. How will I know if you need me? It'll be okay, I'll find mine it's probably not far away." Hutch patted Starsky on the shoulder. "I won't be long, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." Starsky was feeling very vulnerable lying trapped under the car. As Hutch walked away, Starsky started tried to move his legs and wiggle out from under the car again. It was no use he was stuck. He could feel his legs and wiggle his toes but it hurt. He couldn't tell if anything was broken or not but he felt like something probably was. He realized how thirsty he was and hoped Hutch would find water and return soon.

Hutch's leg hurt but he found he could walk on it better than he could last night. Hutch didn't have to walk far before finding his gun. He saw it lying on the ground next to a big rock. He picked it up, blew the dirt off it and put it in its holster.

Hutch couldn't find a stream, creek or any source of water. He did find a couple more cans of soda and picked them up along with a couple of packs of peanut butter crackers he found. He put the crackers in his pocket and carried what he found back to Starsky. He sat down next to Starsky, "I found breakfast, look." He handed Starsky a package of crackers and cans of soda.

Starsky opened the cans of soda then he took the package of crackers Hutch was struggling with and opened them for him. Starsky could tell Hutch's arm was really hurting him.

After they finished their breakfast, Hutch looked under the car to see if he could tell how bad Starsky was trapped. He tried to move some of the dirt from around Starsky's legs to free him. It was hard with only one arm. He fell over onto his broken arm and yelled from the pain.

He sat next to Starsky to rest a few minutes before he tried again. "Hutch, find me two sticks so I can splint your arm. I can use another shirt to hold it in place."

"Yeah, okay. Give me a minute." Hutch gently put his left arm on his lap as he sat. He looked at his leg and noticed that it was bleeding again. He sat a few minutes then slowly got up. He found two sticks and brought them back to Starsky. After his arm was splinted, there was a lot of discussion about what to do next. They both knew their best bet was for Hutch to try to hike out and get help. There was no way he could get Starsky out from under the car himself.

"How do your legs feel, buddy?"

"I can't feel them or move them anymore."

As much as Hutch hated to let Starsky out of his sight he knew it was their only hope. He gathered some more clothes and food he found, put them in Starsky's reach. Hutch made sure Starsky was as comfortable as he could be. Hutch refolded the jacket that was under Starsky's head, "I hate leaving you."

"Hey, it's the only way. Besides, I know you'll be back."

"I won't be gone long, pal." Hutch patted Starsky on the shoulder just before he left.

Hutch looked at the embankment they had rolled down and knew that's where the road was. He studied it a minute, rubbing his sore leg. Hutch found a stick he could use to help him keep his balance. He said to himself, 'Okay, Hutch, you can do this. You have to do this for Starsky.' As he started climbing, he heard a car. He yelled, but the car kept going. He was too far from the road for anyone to hear him. Hutch slid down a little but managed to keep his balance. Resting a few minutes, he then started his uphill climb again. He reached a spot that was pretty steep and started sliding again. This time he couldn't stop himself and he started rolling down the hill. Just like the previous night he rolled over sticks, branches, and rocks. He felt the sharp stabbing pain each time he rolled onto his left arm. Passing out after hitting his head on a rock, he continued to roll downhill. Hutch continued to roll until he wrapped himself around a large tree.

Starsky was getting worried when Hutch didn't come back within a couple of hours. He thought for sure it wouldn't take him long to hike up to the road and find help. He struggled again to free himself but all he accomplished was wasting his energy and causing the pain to return. He fell asleep and when he woke up again the sun was starting to set. He starting thinking about what Hutch went through when he had been trapped for a couple of days under his car. Starsky had tried desperately to find him.

This time Hutch knew where Starsky was and he couldn't imagine why Hutch hadn't come back. He had a bad feeling that something had happened to his best friend. He had learned over the years to trust those 'feelings.' Starsky was worried and beginning to become scared. He yelled, "Huuutch!" There was no answer. Remembering that he had his gun, he fired it twice. Starsky could do nothing buy lie trapped under the car wondering what happened to his 'other half.' Starsky never liked the woods or camping and his mind was working overtime thinking of everything that could have happened to Hutch. He imagined he'd been attacked by a bear, wolves or some other animal. He thought that maybe Hutch had fallen again and died. His mind was racing with the endless possibilities. Finally he took a deep breath and said to himself, "Stop it Starsk. He'll be back. You know he's alive." He shook his head, "I know you're alive, Hutch ole, buddy." Starsky eventually fell asleep.

Hutch had been knocked out for hours. As he slowly regained consciousness, he felt pain all over. Every muscle in his body hurt, breathing hurt, even his eyes hurt when he opened them. It took him a few minutes to realize what happened and where he was. His vision was blurry at first but it cleared up after a couple of minutes. He realized he was 'wrapped around a tree,' took a deep breath and coughed then cringed from the pain. 'Oh great,' he thought, 'I got a couple of broken ribs that's for sure.' He reached his hand up to feel his head and noticed a lump but there was no blood. Next, he noticed the pain in his left arm. He thought it hurt before he fell now the pain was almost unbearable. The pain in his leg was worse now too and it was bleeding again. He thought of Starsky lying stuck under the car. He knew he had to make it back to him. He managed to stand up with the help of a large stick he found and walked slowly. He stumbled but managed to stay on his feet. He was taking each step very slowly to avoid falling again. It took a while and a lot of effort but he made it back to the car and saw Starsky was sleeping. It was already starting to get dark. Hutch knew there was nothing he could do today. Hutch was tired too and in so much pain he laid his head on Starsky's chest. He whispered, "I'm sorry, buddy," as he fell asleep.

Starsky woke up during the night with and noticed Hutch was lying with his head on him. He could feel Hutch shivering and he was getting cold himself. He reached for a couple of jackets Hutch had put nearby and Hutch moaned. Starsky knew Hutch was in a lot of pain even in his sleep. He didn't want to wake him but another storm was coming and he needed to cover them both up as much as he could.

"Sta…" Hutch moaned.

"Shhh, it's okay, buddy. I don't know what happened but you made it back to me. Just rest tonight and in the morning we'll think of some way to get us out of here. We'll be okay, pal." Starsky put his arms around Hutch. Hutch didn't say anything else or move. Starsky tried to see what injuries Hutch might have but it was too dark and he didn't want to move Hutch to get the flashlight. He knew Hutch tried his best to hike out and get help.

Another storm came and this one brought even more lightning and some rain. Starsky felt so helpless and he held Hutch in his arms as he fell asleep.

Starsky had no way of knowing that the lightning had struck a tree on the next ridge and the rain was insufficient to put the fire out. It had been a long, hot, dry summer in California and the ground was dry. The wind blew the sparks from the tree to the ground and a brush fire had started.

Chapter 3

Day 3

Johnny and Roy were anxious to get off work to meet up with Starsky and Hutch. When their shift was over, they were changing in the locker room, "Hey, Roy, what hotel did Starsky say they were staying at?"

"Didn't Huggy get them a good deal at that hotel on Fourth Street? What's the name?"

"Oh, yeah, isn't it Debbie's Castle?" Johnny said as he tied his shoe.

"That's it. I'll call as soon as we get dressed and let them know we're off now. We can pick up our wives and meet them for breakfast." Roy closed his locker and picked up his bag with his dirty clothes close in it.

"Sounds like a good plan to me. Man, I'm glad we didn't have any runs last night."

Roy walked into the kitchen, looked up the hotel number in the book and called. Johnny walked in the kitchen in time to hear Roy say, "Are you sure? Did they cancel the room? No. No message, I'll call back later, thank you." He hung up the phone looked at Johnny, "They never checked in and didn't cancel the room."

"I don't like the sounds of that, Roy."

"Me either. Not with as much trouble as they seem to get into."

"If they ended up having to work they would have cancelled the room, right?"

"Yeah, they would have."

"So should we call someone and check on them?" Johnny asked as he poured them both a cup of coffee.

"Let's call Joanne and Aubrey and see if maybe they called one of them first." Johnny nodded and Roy picked up the phone and called home. Joanne said that she had not heard from them and Aubrey had just pulled up and she hadn't heard from them either. "I don't like this, Johnny. I'm going to call their station and see if they ended working after all." Roy called Joanne back and got the phone number for Captain Dobey. He had written it down the first time they met Starsky and Hutch.

Roy explained what his concern was and got permission from the B-Shift Captain to make a long-distance call to the Bay City Police Department.

Captain Dobey was sitting at his desk reading a report from one of his junior detectives when his phone rang he picked it up, "Captain Dobey."

"Captain, this is Roy DeSoto from Los Angeles and I'm calling because Starsky and Hutch were supposed to meet me and my partner this morning. We just called the hotel and they never checked in and they never cancelled their room. Is everything alright?"

"They what! They left here on Friday and should have been there…" His voice trailed off as he started wondering what Starsky and Hutch got into this time.

"Captain?"

"Sorry, DeSoto. I was just thinking. I'm going to check on a couple of things here. Do you have number where I can reach you?" Roy gave the Captain his home number and told him that he would go to the hotel on his way home to make sure they weren't there.

When Captain Dobey hung up the phone, he ordered another team of detectives to go to both Starsky and Hutch's place's to make sure they weren't there. When the detectives called about an hour later they stated everything seemed okay at both places. Hutch's LTD was parked out front and Starsky's Torino was gone. Roy called Captain Dobey back and said that no one had heard from either of the missing detectives in LA yet. Captain Dobey put a state-wide APB out on Starsky, Hutch and Starsky's Ford Torino. After he made the call for the APB he put his hands up and rubbed his head.

He stood up and then sat back down. He tapped his pencil on his desk. He couldn't imagine what they could have gotten themselves into this time. He called 'The Pits' and asked Huggy if he'd heard anything or if he had any ideas on what could have happened to them. Huggy told Dobey that Starsky had mentioned something about surprising Hutch by going the long way through the mountains. Dobey thanked Huggy and both men hung up.

Captain Dobey tapped his pencil on the desk again saying out loud, "The mountains. The mountains. I guess we'll have to retrace their steps." He was really getting worried about his favorite team. They left three days ago and no one has heard from them since. He knew their propensity for getting into trouble.

Roy and Johnny decided that they would take Roy's car and come back later for Johnny's. After Johnny and Roy left the station on their way to the hotel, station 51 was called to a brush fire. The hotel clerk told them that Starsky and Hutch had not checked in yet and they had not heard from either of them. "Let's go to my place, Johnny, maybe they'll be there."

When they pulled up to Roy's place and didn't see Starsky's car they felt disappointed. Joanne said that Captain Dobey called and told her that they were going to retrace the route they think Starsky took. She said that she had called the local hospitals already. Joanne told Roy that Starsky had decided to take Hutch through the mountains as a surprise. Roy looked at Johnny and then back at Joanne. "I think that's a good idea. Johnny, do you think he would have taken Stoneridge Hill?"

"Coming from Bay City that's what I'd take." Johnny rubbed Aubrey's swelling belly. At 8 months pregnant her stomach looked she had a basketball under her shirt. He looked at her with those pleading eyes. He didn't want to leave her especially after just having just spent the last 24-hours away.

"Go, G-man. You need to find them. I'll stay here with Joanne, I'll be fine. I'm not due for another month you know."

Joanne looked at Aubrey and smiled then looked at Roy who rubbed her belly. She was not showing as much as Aubrey but had a bit of pudge herself. "Oh, get going you two. I think the Me and Thee of Bay City might need some help from the Me and Thee of Los Angeles this time. God only knows what they've gotten themselves into."

Roy and Johnny laughed and kissed their wives goodbye. They assured them that they would check-in when they could. They decided to start at the hotel and drive towards Stoneridge Hill from there. They had not heard about the brush fire that had started from the storm the night before. It was growing and was very much out of control.

Starsky woke up with Hutch's head on his shoulder. The sun was up but the sky didn't look right. It had a strange look to it. It was cloudy but not like a storm cloud. That's when Starsky realized the smell in the air. He knew what he was smelling was smoke and from the looks of the sky, it was close. He gently shook Hutch, "Hutch. Hutch you gotta wake up, buddy. I think we got a big problem now."

Hutch was sound asleep but heard the urgency in Starsky voice as he shook him awake. Before he opened his eyes he thought 'did he say we have a big problem. Well duh, we have a problem.' He opened his eyes and moaned. "I'm sorry, Starsk. I tried to make it out but…" He stopped talking when he saw the fear on Starsky's face. He looked around and noticed the smoke-filled sky and could smell it in the air.

"I think it's a brush fire, Hutch and it's close."

Hutch sat up grabbing his arm which hurt so bad now he wished it would just fall off. Starsky had the chance to see just how bad his partner looked. Hutch had black and blue marks over just about every part of him that Starsky could see. "Hutch, what happened? You look like hell. Don't lie to me, okay. I know you're hurting and I know it's more than your arm and leg."

Hutch knew his best friend well enough to know that he needed to tell him the truth. Starsky deserved to know everything they were facing. "I tried to hike to the road and fell. I passed out again for a long time. I don't even remember making it back here. I think I broke a couple of ribs, it hurts when I breathe. My leg is worse and so is my arm. I hurt everywhere."

Starsky noticed the splint had come off Hutch's broken arm, probably during his fall. He helped Hutch make a sling out of one of the shirts and tied that in place with another one. Hutch said it felt a little better. Next, he replaced the bandage on Hutch's leg which appeared to have bled a lot during the night. "There's nothing I can do about your ribs." Starsky said to Hutch as he found a couple of cans of the soda that Hutch had brought back and opened them.

"Starsk, I'm going to walk over there and see just how close this fire is." He pointed to his left. There he saw puffs of smoke and it appeared that's where the fire was coming from.

"Hey, don't leave my sight this time, okay?"

Hutch patted Starsky's shoulder with his good arm and said, "Not a chance, buddy." Starsky was trying not to show just how scared he was but Hutch knew. Hutch thought 'how could Starsky not be scared? He's been trapped under a car going on three days now, there is a fire that appears to be pretty close and I haven't been able to get us out of here. Shit, I'm scared too.' He stood up slowly and made his way to the little hill. He was now looking into a small valley and on the other side was the fire. He could see it coming and it looked like it was moving pretty fast. He made his way back to Starsky as quickly as he could.

Chapter 4

The Fire

Starsky could see almost panic in Hutch's eyes and the worry showed on his face. "Hutch, it's close isn't it? Real close."

"Buddy, we gotta get you out of here." Hutch got on his knees and was frantically trying to dig Starsky out with his one hand.

"Hutch, stop! If it's that's close, leave me.!" Hutch knew by the look on Starsky's face and by the tone in his voice he was serious. He really wanted Hutch to leave him there stuck under the car with the fire rapidly approaching.

"Don't be ridiculous, Starsk. I'd never leave you." He kept digging; he knew they didn't have very long before the fire reached them. Hutch wasn't about to let Starsky burn to death trapped under the car.

He grabbed Hutch's arm. "Look there's no reason we both have to… You know what I mean. I got my gun, when it gets close I'll…"

"Don't, Starsk. Don't say it. Don't even think it. I'll get us out of here." He had tears running down his face now. The fear and frustration of the past few days, along with his own pain and injuries, were catching up with him now. He couldn't bear the thought of losing his best friend not now, not like this.

Starsky's voice was calm as if he knew the inevitable was going to happen and he certainly didn't want Hutch to die this way. He still had a hold on Hutch's arm, "It's okay, Hutch. Just go. One of us has to make it out of here."

Hutch had so much built up anger at himself for not finding a way out and for letting himself get hurt worse, he wasn't thinking when he hit Starsky giving him a bloody lip. "Oh, God. What did I do? I'm sorry, Starsk. I'm so sorry for everything."

"I think one of us needed that hit. I don't think it was me though. I'll pay you back one day for that." He looked around and said, "The car jack. Do you think...?"

Hutch scrambled around and found the jack lying on the ground near the trunk of the car. He brought it around to the front of the car. "You know, Starsk, the hood of the car won't support the weight."

"I know that, dummy. Put the jack by the back door you should be able to lift it up just enough I might be able to pull myself out."

Hutch put the jack where Starsky said but when he tried to jack it up that part couldn't hold the weight and it fell back down. "Hand me the crow bar, Hutch."

When Hutch handed Starsky the crow bar he tried to use it to dig around his trapped legs. The both knew the fire was getting closer. Hutch tried putting the jack under different parts of the car but nothing was working.

Roy and Johnny headed up Stoneridge Hill. By now they heard about the fire on the radio. "Roy, you don't suppose they wrecked around there someplace do you?"

"I hope not, partner. It's a bad road and they would have been through here at night. Maybe they did crash. Let's get to the command center and see if they can get a bird in the air to look for them."

As they were driving to the command center, the smoke was getting thicker. Johnny noticed a spot in the road that looked like a car could have gone over the embankment. "Roy, stop!" Roy hit the brakes almost locking them up and the car came to a screeching halt. "Back there, I think I saw a spot it looked like someone might have gone over."

Roy turned the car around and stopped where Johnny had said and it did look like someone had recently wrecked. There were skid marks and tire marks going down the hill. They got out of the car and looked down. They didn't see anything and Johnny yelled, "Starsky, Hutch!" He received no reply.

Starsky was exhausted and in so much pain from moving around he stopped digging, put his hand on Hutch's arm again. "Hutch, it's time, buddy." He was trying not to let his voice crack. "Please go."

Hutch put his hand over Starsky's mouth. Not to hit him again but to silence him, "Shhh. Did you hear that?"

Starsky shook his head no. Hutch still had his hand over his mouth he mumbled, "Mmmm."

Hutch realized that he still had his hand over Starsky's mouth removed it, smiled, "Sorry. I think I heard someone." Hutch stood up slowly and walked toward the road.

Starsky remembered he had his gun and fired a shot in the air, which scared the daylights out of Hutch and he jumped. Starsky laughed at the sight. Hutch turned around and gave Starsky a dirty look.

Roy and Johnny heard what sounded like a gunshot. They both yelled, "Starsky, Hutch is that you?"

Hutch had made it to the bottom of the incline and yelled, "Roy, Johnny help us!"

Chapter 5

The Rescue

Roy and Johnny smiled at each other but then they realized just how close the fire was getting, they could almost feel the heat. Johnny yelled, "We're coming, Hutch hold on." They ran back to Roy's car and got out their climbing gear. They both kept extra gear in their cars for emergencies like this. It was Johnny who made the descent down the embankment to a very happy Hutch. "Hutch, man what happened to you? You look like…"

Hutch cut him off, "Never mind me, Starsky's trapped under the car and the fire's not far away."

Johnny got out of the harness and tried to put Hutch in it, "I'm not going anywhere without Starsk."

"Yeah, I didn't think so." He looked up at Roy and yelled, "Roy, Starsky's trapped, no time, throw me the shovel."

Roy retrieved a shovel from his car and lowered it down. He knew the fire was getting close and was worried about his partner now. He knew Johnny would stay as long as it took to free a trapped man and this was a friend.

Johnny untied the shovel and went to Starsky. "Hey, how you feeling?" He asked as he started to dig as fast as he could.

"Like someone who's about to be roasted alive."

"Not going to happen, Starsky."

Hutch cringed and held his ribs as he started coughing from the smoke. Johnny made a mental note to make sure to give Hutch the once over as soon as they made it out of here. Johnny kept digging as fast as he could until Starsky said, "Hey, I can move a little."

Johnny stopped digging, "Starsky, just hold still. I'm going to see if I can pull you out now."

Starsky didn't move as Johnny put his arms under Starsky's shoulders and started to pull him out. Starsky yelled from the pain and Johnny stopped. "No! Don't stop. I think my legs are broken. It hurts but don't stop."

Johnny noticed the fire was getting closer. It was probably less than a couple hundred yards away. If he didn't hurry none of them would make it out. "Hutch, I got him. Get in the harness and have Roy pull you up and send it back down. Roy's gonna need your help to pull us up." Hutch knew the tone of Johnny's voice meant that they didn't have much time and headed toward the harness as Johnny continued to pull Starsky out from under the car. Johnny decided it was best to continue to pull Starsky with his arms locked around Starsky's chest than to try to us the fireman's carry. Because of the terrain, he could easily stumble and drop Starsky. It was painful for Starsky, but it was the best and safest way to get him out.

Hutch had a hard time putting the harness on one handed but he managed. He told Roy to pull him up. Hutch did his best to keep his balance and walk up the hillside as Roy pulled him. It seemed like forever before he reached the top.

Roy unhooked him and threw the harness back down to Johnny. Roy saw how bad Hutch looked and said, "I hope Starsky's in better shape than you are." He saw Hutch's eyes roll and close. Roy caught him and slid him gently to the ground.

Roy heard a siren coming around the bend. He knew it was a fire truck, and probably a brush truck from the sounds of it. He flagged it down and was happy to see a squad was right behind it. "Man, am I glad to see you guys. Johnny's down there with an injured man. The fire's coming up on them. I don't think they have long. I need help getting them up. Collins can you get the stokes?"

"Yeah, Roy. You go on down and help Johnny. We'll get things together here and pull you up."

Roy pulled the harness back up and put it on. He was lowered down by two of the men that were on the brush truck, Miller and Stevens. Roy was about to call out to Johnny when he heard Starsky moaning. He ran over to help him. "What happened, Johnny?"

Johnny was out of breath and he couldn't talk in a complete sentence, "Broken legs, fire's coming." Johnny nodded his head toward the direction he had just come from. Roy looked toward that direction and saw more smoke headed their way. The three of them could feel the heat from the rapidly approaching blaze.

"We got help here now. Collins is getting the stokes off his squad." He said to Johnny as he picked Starsky's legs up. He knew it would hurt his friend but the fire would hurt him more and he could see just how close it was now. Roy and Johnny put Starsky into the stokes and didn't have the time to tie him down. Roy yelled for Collins to raise him. Roy and Johnny then climbed up the embankment without waiting for ropes and harness to be lowered.

Just as Roy and Johnny made it to the top, they heard Starsky's car explode. "Partner, that was a close one." Roy said as he looked at Johnny.

Miller, Stevens and the others that were on the brush truck started spraying the immediate area so they would not be in danger from the fire. They knew that would give the paramedics time to stabilize Starsky and Hutch before being moved.

Collins told Roy that two ambulances were on the way and should be there in about ten minutes. Roy turned his attention to Hutch who was still unconscious lying on the ground. Roy felt for a radial pulse and didn't feel one, which meant Hutch's systolic blood pressure was under 90. Collins walked over to him and handed Roy his sphygmomanometer. Roy thanked him and took Hutch's blood pressure. Just as Roy thought, Hutch's blood pressure was only 86/50. Collins had already gotten the drug box out of the unit and had and IV set up ready for Roy to give Hutch. Roy performed a rapid head-to-toe examination on Hutch. He could feel crepitation in his rib cage, suggesting broken ribs. He suspected a hemothorax. Hutch's left arm was obviously broken and Collins helped him splint it. He also cleaned his leg wound and bandaged it. He hoped the ambulance would arrive soon. Hutch was in pretty bad shape and needed a hospital.

Johnny was working on Starsky with the help of Collins' partner Moon. It was obvious that Starsky was in a lot of pain. Johnny knew the ambulance would be arriving soon and performed a head-to-toe rapid examination. A focused detailed examination could wait until they were in the unit on the way to Rampart.

Johnny looked at Starsky, "Okay, this may hurt a bit but I have to know what your injuries are. I know you're worried about Hutch, Roy's with him now."

Starsky was awake and talking so Johnny knew his airway was open and he was breathing. He didn't see any life-threatening bleeds. Next, he started with Starsky's head and noticed his pupils were unequal suggesting a concussion. He had Moon clean and re-bandage Starsky's laceration on his forehead which looked infected. Starsky's lungs were clear and he had good breath sounds. Johnny palpated Starsky's legs and was pretty sure he had broken his left tibia in two places, a broken left ankle, a right fibula fracture and some internal injuries judging from the amount of pain Starsky was in when he palpated his abdomen. Starsky was conscious and kept asking to see Hutch. Johnny knew Hutch was unconscious and didn't want to tell Starsky that. "Starsk, we need to get you stable. Don't worry about Hutch, I told you Roy's with him now."

"I'm fine, let me see Hutch. Why can't I see him? Is he dead?"

"No, Starsky he's not. It's just well…"

"Come on Johnny, I want the truth." He reached out and grabbed Johnny's arm.

"Okay. Hutch is unconscious. Roy's getting ready to give him an IV now and I'm sure he's going to be just fine."

"He's got broken ribs, tell Roy that." Johnny looked at Moon who went over to Roy and told him that Hutch may have broken ribs. Roy said he felt that and it was possible that Hutch had a hemothorax. Moon went back to help Johnny with Starsky and told him Roy felt Hutch's broken ribs.

"See, Starsk. We know what we're doin'. Just relax and I promise I'll make sure you see him as soon as possible, okay?"

Moon helped splint Starsky's broken legs and took his blood pressure which was 90/70. It was better than Hutch's but not by much.

Collins had handed Roy the biophone and he called Rampart. He told Dr. Brackett what Hutch's vital signs were and told him that he wanted permission to start an IV on him. After getting the go ahead for the IV, Roy told Dr. Brackett that Johnny would give him the information on Starsky. Collins took the phone to Johnny who told Dr. Brackett what he thought Starsky's injuries were. Johnny told Starsky that with a head injury he couldn't give him anything for pain. Starsky said that he wanted to stay awake anyway. He was too worried about Hutch to be drugged up. Johnny received permission to start an IV on Starsky.

Chapter 6

The Hospital

The ambulances finally arrived and Starsky and Hutch were loaded and taken to Rampart. When Roy was pushing the gurney down the hall, Dixie told him to take Hutch to room 1 and Johnny was told to put Starsky in room 2.

Dr. Brackett was already in the room waiting for Hutch. Roy told him that his blood pressure went up to 100/60 and his pulse was weak. Roy told him about the suspected hemothorax and Dr. Brackett ordered a chest x-ray, stat. He also ordered blood work and other tests.

Dr. Early didn't waste any time in getting Starsky into surgery. His abdomen had become distended and tender.

As soon as both Starsky and Hutch were taken to surgery, Roy and Johnny went to the waiting room. They filled each other in on their friends' conditions. Roy started to sit down but stood back up, "Captain Dobey. We need to call him."

Dixie just walked in and heard Roy. "Roy, come in here. You can call long distance from this phone." She took Roy into the nurse's lounge and punched the code on the phone that allowed a long-distance call to be made. He thanked her and dialed.

"Captain Dobey here."

"Captain, this is Roy DeSoto. We found Starsky and Hutch. They were in an accident and both are in surgery now."

The Captain sighed and scratched his head and the worried look on his face made him appear ten years older. Somehow he knew something had happened to them. Roy filled him in on as much as he knew and Dobey told him that he would get on a helicopter and be there in a couple of hours. When he hung up, Captain Dobey let Huggy know that Starsky and Hutch were found and were at Rampart Hospital in Los Angeles. Then he called for a helicopter to take him to Los Angeles and transportation to the hospital from the airport. His next call was to his wife, Edith, who had been worried since finding out they were missing.

Johnny had called Aubrey while Roy was talking to Captain Dobey. He told her that they wanted to stay at the hospital until they were both out of surgery. Aubrey said she understood that and she and Joanne would come to the hospital. Johnny knew the surgeries might take a while and in their conditions, neither of their wives needed to be sitting in the waiting room. He suggested that she stay with Joanne for now and he would call when they knew something. She knew Johnny was right and he would call when they knew something. She said they would have dinner waiting for them when they managed to make it home. She told him to stay as long as he wanted and that she would be fine.

Johnny hung up the phone and sat in one of the chairs in the waiting room. Roy sat next to him after he finished his call to Captain Dobey.

"Roy, I gotta tell ya, that was a close one."

"Too close for comfort, that's for sure." They sat in silence for a minute.

"I hope they're going to be okay." Johnny said as he stood and started pacing.

"Me too. Hey, I'm glad you made it out, partner. You could have been…"

Johnny hadn't realized that Roy had been that worried about him until he saw the look in his face, "Aw, I knew you were there. You wouldn't have let anything happen. Me and Thee right, like them."

"Right. I'll always have your back, Johnny."

"And I got yours, buddy."

"I'll never forget the last time they were here."

"Me either. Seeing you on that ventilator is not an experience I'd care to repeat. But I gotta tell you, helping Starsky interrogate that suspect was kind of fun, especially breaking that chair."

"You being kidnapped by that mad man not knowing what was happening is nothing I want to repeat either, pal."

"But you know what, Roy?"

"Yeah, I know. We've become closer friends since then."

Johnny smiled big and said, "We sure have."

About an hour later they saw Captain Dobey walking to the nurse's station. Roy and Johnny stood up and started walking toward the police captain. They could see the worry the big man was wearing on his face and they told him Starsky and Hutch were both still in surgery. They handed him a cup of coffee and the three of them sat down and waited.

It wasn't much longer when Dixie told them that Starsky was out of surgery. She said Dr. Early had to repair a small liver laceration and he was going to have more surgeries on his legs but he was out of danger. Starsky's recovery would be a long, slow painful process.

Captain Dobey asked, "What about Hutch? How's Hutchinson?"

"Dr. Brackett will be out in a minute." Roy and Johnny knew Dixie well enough to know that wasn't a good sign. It wasn't so much what she said but what she didn't say that had them worried.

Dr. Brackett walked into the waiting room and told them that one of Hutch's broken ribs punctured a lung that caused a hemothorax. He also said that he was stable for now. He said Hutch would have to be in the hospital at least a week.

"Doctor, is there any way they can…" Captain Dobey started to ask.

"Yes. They will both be in the same room. I remember the problem we had with them the last time they were here. They will both be in recovery for the rest of today. In the morning, they'll be moved to the same room."

As he opened his eyes the next morning, Starsky saw the familiar overhead lights of a hospital. He felt the IV in his arm and breathed the oxygen that was blowing in his nose. He smiled knowing that meant he was no longer under the car and he hadn't burned to death in the fire. The last thing he did remember was Hutch hitting him. He felt his fat lip and said, "That I remember, Hutch," as if he was talking to his partner. Then he turned his head to see his partner. He didn't see Hutch anyplace. He tried to sit up but the pain in his legs wouldn't allow it. He frantically searched for the call bell and pushed it several times before Dixie came in. She was calm as she walked over to his bed. "Now, Starsky, don't worry that pretty little head of yours about your partner, Hutch. He's being brought down here from recovery now."

Starsky relaxed when he realized that Hutch was still alive, "You got that all wrong, Dix. He has the pretty little head."

She fluffed his pillow and gave him some pain medication."Well either way, he'll be here in a couple of minutes."

"Is he really, okay? You wouldn't lie to me, would ya?" He put the small cup with the medicine in it on the bedside table.

"Starsky, I wouldn't lie to you. I'm not going to tell you he's a hundred percent, but he will be. Take your medicine."

"Not yet. This is pain meds, right?" Dixie nodded. "Then it's going to make me sleepy and I want to be awake when Hutch gets here. He's gonna want to see this ugly mug of mine too."

"I heard he has already been asking about you."

Hutch was brought into the room. Starsky noticed that Hutch looked terrible. "Hey, Dix?"

"I know he looks beat up right now, but Dr. Brackett said he'll be okay."

"Hey, buddy, you okay?" Hutch asked as he saw Starsky.

"They say my legs are pretty messed up but I'll live. What about you? You look terrible, pal."

"Have you seen a mirror, buddy. You're not looking so hot yourself."

"Yeah, well that's 'cause you hit me." The look he gave Hutch let him know that the fat lip he had was the least of his problems.

Hutch said weakly looking at Starsky, "We almost didn't make it out of this one."

"I don't remember how we did get out. What happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened," came a voice from the doorway. Starsky recognized that voice as belonging to Johnny Gage. Johnny walked into the room followed by Roy. "You two sure know how to scare the hell of somebody."

"They've been doing that to me for years." Captain Dobey said as he entered the room. "Starsky, Hutch, you could have just asked for more time off. You didn't have to work out this elaborate scheme to get more time." He smiled and shook his head. "You really had me worried this time. I'd like to know what happened."

Starsky and Hutch told Captain Dobey everything up until their rescue. The last thing Hutch could remember was being pulled up by Roy. Starsky couldn't remember much past Hutch hitting him. Neither of them said anything about what Starsky said about Hutch leaving him. That would stay between the two of them. Roy and Johnny filled them in on what happened after they found them.

Chapter 7

Recovery

Hutch was recovering nicely but Dr. Early called in an orthopedist specialist to look at Starsky's broken legs. He had to have two more surgeries that week on his legs and there would be more in the weeks to come. Roy and Johnny came to visit on their days off and stopped in a couple of times when they were on duty. Starsky and Hutch were grateful for the visits. The entire A-shift came in to see them on Tuesday.

Roy came home from one of his visits and told Joanne that Hutch was probably going to be released within a couple of days. Joanne asked when Starsky would be allowed to go back to Bay City. "The orthopedist won't let him travel even by ambulance for at least a week."

"What's Hutch going to do? He can't stay in the hospital the whole week."

"No. Starsky's stable enough now, Hutch won't need to be with him at night. He needs to rest himself."

"Honey, he can stay here until Starsky goes too, can't he?"

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all. I can't imagine seeing him leave town without Starsky."

Roy kissed his wife, "You're wonderful, you know."

"Yeah, I know." She smiled back at him.

Hutch didn't protest too much about staying with the DeSoto's. He didn't want to put them out but they assured him that they wanted him there.

The first day Johnny and Roy were off after Hutch was discharged, the three of them stopped at a Mexican restaurant with the intention of sneaking Starsky all of his favorite Mexican foods. Hutch, of course, had done stuff like this plenty of times but Johnny and Roy were not used to going against hospital rules and were starting to get nervous. "It'll be fine. I promise. What's the worst thing they can do, throw us out?" Hutch laughed.

"But, Hutch, we spend a lot of time at the hospital. We have to work with these people." Roy said as he looked for Dixie or any other nurse to be lurking around.

Johnny appeared to be a little more adventurous and said, "I think it's kind of exciting, Roy. Hutch is right, what can they really do to us? Besides, Starsky needs real food and I promised him I'd take him for a big Mexican dinner when they came to visit."

Sensing how nervous they were becoming especially Roy, Hutch said, "Tell you what, the two of go on in Starsky's room. I'll follow you in a couple of minutes with his lunch. That way if anyone gets into trouble, it will be me and you'll be in the clear."

Roy walked ahead of Hutch and mumbled, "I still don't like it." Johnny looked back at Hutch, laughed and gave him the thumbs up sign.

When Hutch walked into the room carrying the bag, Starsky sat up and sniffed, "Is that Mexican food I smell?"

"Only the best for my buddy, buddy." Hutch said as he opened the bag and started laying the food on the bedside table.

Starsky didn't waste any time digging in. He was all smiles as he started eating the first burrito. "Thank you, thank you. This is the best thing I think I've eaten in my entire life. I love ya, Hutch ole buddy."

"Thank Johnny, it was his idea. I'm just the delivery man." It made Hutch feel good to see Starsky enjoying the verboten food.

"Too scared of the rules to bring it in yourselves, huh guys." Starsky said laughing with a mouth full of the taco he was now crunching on. Roy started to say something but Starsky interrupted, "It's okay, guys. I get it. You work with these people. Hutch and I will be going home; there's not a lot they can do to us." Starsky picked up two tacos and offered them to Johnny and Roy.

Roy sheepishly took the taco and said, "Thanks."

Johnny took the other one, "Wait till you try the enchilada, it's fantastic."

Hutch looked at the food on the table and picked up a burrito. He usually didn't like a lot of stuff inside Starsky's burritos but the smell of everything was making him hungry. He took a bite and agreed with Starsky that it was pretty good.

Dixie opened the door unnoticed by the guys who were laughing and having a good time. She saw what they were eating and cleared her throat to announce her presence. Roy and Johnny looked like a couple of little kids who were caught red-handed with their hand in a cookie jar. Starsky just broke out laughing. Hutch managed to say, "Sorry about this," while laughing himself.

Dixie walked to the table, looked at the spread of food and picked up a burrito, took a bite of it, turned and started walking toward the door. She put her hand on the door knob, turned back around, looked at the four men, and after she finished chewing said, "I'll be back in fifteen minutes." She then looked directly at Roy and Johnny and didn't say anything else as she left the room.

All four of them busted out into laughter. Even Roy and Johnny were laughing so hard they could hardly catch their breath. After a couple of minutes Roy said, "We'd better have this out of here in fifteen minutes." The four of them started eating the rest of their lunch.

Starsky was allowed to be transferred to Bay City Memorial Hospital the following week. Starsky and Hutch said their goodbyes to Roy, Johnny and their families. They had made plans to come visit after their babies were born. Starsky had to be transported by ambulance. Huggy had offered to make the trip to pick Hutch up, but the ambulance company said that they would let Hutch ride with them as long as he was willing to ride in the front.

Starsky was transported with his IVs in place and he was given extra pain medication for the trip. It was going to be a long two-hour ride and lying on the stretcher in the back of an ambulance is not a very comfortable way to travel. Starsky was nervous about the trip because he was still in a lot of pain and wanted Hutch with him. Hutch was allowed to ride with them but he had to ride up front. About twenty-minutes into the trip, the medication started to work and Starsky was able to relax. Starsky relaxed so much in fact, that he started singing, "He was born in the summer of something, Rocky Mountain High in Bay City, Rocky Mountain High. Hey, you still there, buddy?"

Hutch was looking somewhat embarrassed as his partner continued to totally brutalize John Denver's song, "Yeah, pal, I'm here."

"Bet you didn't know I could sing like John Denver did ya?"

The driver looked at Hutch smiled and said, "It's okay. We know it's the medicine that's making him act like that. It happens all the time."

"Hutch?"

"I'm right here, Starsk."

"But I wanna talk to you back here."

"Starsk, just relax" Hutch looked in the back of the ambulance to see Starsky trying to sit up.

Madison was trying to calm Starsky down, "Now, Mr. Starsky, just sit back and relax. If you move too much you're going to start hurting again."

"But I wanna talk to Hutch." He tried to unbuckle the strap that was holding him down on the stretcher. Starsky became out of control and the ambulance driver and Madison decided it would be safer if they allowed Hutch to ride in the back with Starsky. After Rocky Mountain High, Starsky started singing, "Almost heaven Bay City, take me home to the place I belong. Country roads take me… Hey Hutch?"

"Yeah, Starsk?"

"Why aren't you singing with me? I thought you liked John Denver?" Madison smiled sweetly as she tried not to laugh.

"Is that what you're doing, singing?"

"You don't like my singing?"

Hutch pulled the blanket up a little more and remembered how Starsky looked trapped under the car. He thought about how Starsky told him to leave him there to save his own life, "I love to hear you sing, buddy."

It was a long two-hour transport but they finally made it to Bay City. Hutch stayed with Starsky until he was settled into his room at the hospital. The effects of the medication were wearing off and Starsky told Hutch to go home and get some real rest. Hutch was better, but the whole incident was taking its toll. Hutch only agreed because Starsky promised he would take his pain medicine like he was supposed to. He had skipped taking it a couple of times because he wanted to be awake when Hutch was there.

Huggy picked Hutch up at the hospital and drove him home. Hutch thought it would be nice to sleep in his own bed. His arm was still in a cast and couldn't take a shower but was looking forward to a nice long hot bath. Huggy stayed with him for a little while to make sure Hutch was okay and had everything he needed then he left.

Chapter 8

Was It An Accident?

When Huggy left, Hutch got up and turned the bath water on. He went into his room and took his holster off and hung it on the back of the closet door. Then he found his red robe and put it on the back of the bathroom door.

Hutch got a beer out of the refrigerator, opened it and headed for the bathroom. He took a nice long hot bath. He started thinking about everything that had happened to them the past couple of weeks. The accident, Starsky getting trapped under the car, the whole thing kept playing over in his mind as he sat in the tub. He kept thinking something wasn't adding up. Until now, his mind had been focused on Starsky's recovery and getting back home. He couldn't place what was bothering him, but he knew he would put his finger on it. He dried himself off when he got out of the tub and put his robe on.

He looked at the clock as he was about to climb into his bed and it was almost midnight. Just as he was about to drift off to sleep he sat up quickly. He picked up the phone and called Captain Dobey at home. "Captain, this is Hutch. I know it's late but I want, no _I need_ a guard on Starsky right away. I'll explain later. I'm headed to the hospital right now. Can you meet me?"

"I'll be there, Hutch." Dobey hung up the phone and kissed his wife goodbye. She was used to his having to leave at all hours during the day and night. She told him to be careful and that she loved him.

Hutch was already in Starsky's room when Captain Dobey arrived. They stepped outside so they wouldn't wake Starsky. "Alright, Hutch, I'm here. Do you mind telling me what's going on?"

Hutch looked around to make sure no one was near, "Captain, I realized tonight that us being run off the road was no accident."

"What? You think someone tried to kill the two of you?"

"Yes, I do and they almost succeeded."

"Why would anyone want to kill you?" Hutch just glared at him. "Okay, dumb question, forget I asked it. Who this time?"

"The drug bust we made just before we left was pretty big. I mean it was what two million dollars worth of pure cocaine. I'm sure someone's pretty upset about it."

"But you caught Markham he's behind bars and he was denied bail."

"Captain, I know it's him. I just know it is. He hired someone to run us off the road. That's why the car kept going."

"If that's the case, neither of you are safe."

"I gotta talk to Huggy; maybe he can find out something."

"Hutch, you're in no shape to go running around."

"I'm fine, but I want a guard on Starsky until I find out who's behind this."

"Hutch, you haven't even been cleared medically for duty." Hutch stared at him. Captain Dobey knew there was no use in arguing with Hutch about this. He had his mind made up that he was going to get to the bottom of this. Nothing and no one was going to stop him. "Okay, I'll let you work on this but it has to be _unofficially _since you haven't been cleared medically and I'm going to assign you a temporary partner. I know you don't want another partner, but it's only until Starsky's back." Now it was his turn to stare at his detective.

Hutch knew Dobey was only going to let him push him so far. "Only until Starsky's back, right?"

"I wouldn't dream of separating the two of you. You're my number one team."

"Who you sticking me with? I don't want some rookie."

"I wouldn't do that to any rookie. No, I'll put you with Jackson."

"Jackson, yeah okay. Starsky and I have worked with him before. Wait a minute, he has a partner. What happened to Miller?"

"Miller was fixing his roof last week, fell off his ladder and broke his leg. He's out six weeks at least."

"Okay. I'll call Jackson in the morning but I'm going to see Huggy now."

Hutch saw Jackson sitting in a booth when he walked into 'The Pits.' He sat in the seat across from him, "I guess Dobey didn't waste any time calling you."

"Nope. Hey, just for the record, Hutch, I'm glad he put us together until our partner's are back."

"Yeah, me too, Jackson. At least neither of us got stuck with some rookie, huh."

"This is your case, Hutch, where do you want to start?"

Huggy came to the table and set a glass of beer in front of each of them. He looked at Hutch as if to ask if he could talk freely in front of Jackson. "Huggy, this here's Jackson. He's my partner until Starsky's back." The nod he gave Huggy let him know that he could talk in front of him.

"Hutch, I just found that Markham hired someone to take you and Starsky out. You've heard of a Joseph Manning?"

"Yeah, he's from San Diego isn't he?"

"Yeah, from what I hear he's one mean cat. You'd better be careful until you find him."

"How can I find him, Hug?"

Huggy leaned in closer so no one else could hear him. "My source tells me that he's laid up in the hotel on Marshall and he knows he didn't finish the job, if you get my drift."

"Thanks, Hug. I owe ya." Hutch said as he slid out of the booth, with Jackson following his lead.

"Naw, you don't owe me for this one, Hutch. Just catch him." Hutch nodded at Huggy and left.

As they were walking outside, Jackson saw a car headed straight toward Hutch. He pushed Hutch out of the way knocking them both down. Jackson looked at the car and noted the license tag; he mumbled to himself as he got out a pen and paper from his jacket pocket, "JZM 395," he said it a few times until he wrote it down. After he wrote the tag number he noticed Hutch was sitting holding his left arm. "Oh, God, Hutch, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, saving my sorry hide? Don't just stand there, help me up, will ya?"

Jackson helped Hutch up and back to the car. He got on the radio and put an APB out on the car that just tried to run them over. Hutch was in a lot of pain. Jackson called Dobey on the way to the hospital.

Hutch's arm was x-rayed at the hospital and it would have to be reset surgically. He was admitted and surgery was scheduled first thing in the morning. Dobey had a hard time keeping Hutch in the hospital. He wanted to be on the street. He wanted to catch the people who were trying to kill him and Starsky before they succeeded. Dobey told him IA wasn't going to be happy as it was that he was working a case while on medical leave. Hutch said that as far as the department was concerned, he was just meeting a friend for a beer when an attempt was made on his life. Dobey thought that didn't sound too bad and Jackson agreed to go along with it.

"You know, Hutchinson, when this is all wrapped up I'm going to need a vacation from your vacation."

Hutch was put in Starsky's room and the guard was given strict instructions to call Dobey himself if Hutch tried to leave. Hutch got into the bed and looked over at Starsky who was peacefully sleeping. The pain medicine Hutch was given was now taking effect and he fell asleep.

Jackson promised to find this Joseph Manning character and bring him in. The APB was out and they knew who they were looking for now. There was nothing more that could be done tonight by Dobey or Jackson so they called it a night.

Around dawn, a black and white unit spotted the car Manning was driving. They called for backup and attempted to pull the car over. There was a chase that last about twenty minutes before Manning was finally forced to pull over. He was taken to the station and while being interrogated by Jackson, admitted to being hired to kill Starsky and Hutch by Markham. He also admitted to trying to run Jackson and Hutch down with the car. He said Markham hired him because of the drug bust. Turns out that Markham owed a lot of people a large sum of money and he was counting on the sale of the cocaine to pay them back. Markham and Manning would both be in jail for a long, long time.

Starsky woke up the next morning unaware of what had happened the night before and was surprised to see Hutch lying in the bed next to his. "Hutch?"

Hutch heard Starsky calling him and opened his eyes, "Yeah, buddy."

"What are doing back here, you okay?"

"Not really." He sat up and told Starsky all about Markham and Manning.

"You don't have to worry about either of them anymore." Dobey said as he walked in the room followed by Jackson. He told them about Manning be caught and giving them enough evidence to put Markham away for life.

"Jackson, I hear I have you to thank for saving my partner here."

"It was no problem, Starsky. He'd have done the same for me. I'm glad it all worked out."

Hutch was released from the hospital after a couple of days but was going to be out of work for at least eight weeks. He didn't mind though because Starsky had to have another surgery on his each of his legs and was told he would be out of work for at least twelve weeks.

Starsky was in the hospital for six weeks before he could come home. During that time Johnny called to say that Aubrey had a beautiful baby girl. Starsky could hear Johnny beaming as he talked about his daughter. Starsky and Hutch both knew Johnny and Aubrey would make great parents. They thought someday they would like to have kids of their own. They even joked about naming their sons after each other knowing how confusing that would be.

The casts had finally been removed and as long as he wasn't left home alone for long, the doctor said Starsky could go home. It was going to take a few weeks of physical therapy before he could walk well enough to be on his own and return to work but a full recovery was expected.

Hutch walked into his room pushing a wheelchair the day Starsky was released and noticed Starsky seemed kind of down. "I thought you'd be happy about going home. I'm staying with you for a while. There's nothing to worry about, buddy."

Starsky sat up in the bed and put is feet on the floor. His legs felt a lot lighter without the weight of the casts on them. He took a deep breath, "It's not that, Hutch."

"Come on, let's go home, partner. It's been a long time." He wheeled the chair close to the bed. He knew Starsky's legs weren't strong enough to walk very far yet.

Starsky got into the chair, "I loved that car, Hutch."

"I know you did, pal. I'm sorry it's gone."

Starsky didn't say anything else as Hutch wheeled him outside. He was glad he was going home. Hutch was right, it had been a long time and he was looking forward to being in his own place.

Hutch stopped in the middle of the parking lot. Starsky turned and looked up at him, "Why you'd stop?"

Hutch smiled and nodded to his left side as a car was being pulled up, driven by Huggy. Starsky's jaw dropped. "It's my car!"

"We'll it's a different one, but yeah it's another tomato. Dobey convinced the department that the loss of your car was work related so they had to replace it."

"Really?!"

"Really. Get in." Starsky got in the passenger side with Hutch's help. Hutch closed the door and got in the driver's side.

Starsky was all smiles as Hutch drove him home. After he was all settled on the couch, Hutch made some coffee and handed Starsky a cup.

Hutch sat in the wicker chair, "You want to hear some more good news, Starsk?"

"Sure."

"Joanne had her baby."

"Hey, before we're released to go back to work let's visit. I want to see the babies."

"I already thought of that, partner. We leave in two weeks. The doctor thinks you'll be strong enough by then." Hutch knew Starsky was tired, "Come on, pal. I think it's time for a nap." He helped Starsky into the bedroom, put a couple of pillows under Starsky's legs, and covered him up.

"You're not going to leave me, are ya?"

"No, partner, i'm not leaving. I'll be in the living room if you need me."

"You know, Hutch, I really do love ya." Starsky said as he fell asleep instantly.

"Yeah, I know." Hutch smiled as he closed the door and took a nap on the couch.


End file.
